Saturday, October 30, 2010

Headlines Saturday 30th October 2010

=== Todays Toon ===

Q and A - Question and Attack.John Howard says Q&A shoe attack 'all in a night's work' - ZEGIt may all be coincidence. But then the extreme left ABC would have that kind of coincidence, wouldn't it? That the tweet was shown is evidence alone of a fall in standards on the ABC. Also the issue with the Hicks interview that was recorded for the show supposed to be live. Mr Howard was live, while the fake set ups were entirely of the left's dementia - ed

=== Bible Quote ===

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”- Romans 12:1

=== Headlines ===

Bomb Materials Confirmed in Shipment From Yemen to ChicagoObama confirms a 'credible terrorist threat,' capping a tense daylong drama, in which federal authorities ground UPS planes at two airports and escort a passenger jet to N.Y. based on fears of a mail-bomb plot by Al Qaeda targeting Jewish places of worship.

Poll: Obama Hits New Low, Frustrations HighJust days before the election, voter frustration with the government spikes as Obama's job approval hits a record low, signaling trouble for incumbent majority Dems, a Fox News poll finds

NASA Covering Up The 100-Year Starship?Did NASA official spill the space beans about a new propulsion technology that will carry Earthling colonists to Mars and beyond — but with no hope of return?

DOD: Marine Marathon Could Be TargetPentagon officials worry the person responsible for at least three military-related shootings around Washington, D.C. — and possibly a fourth this morning at Marine Corps Museum — could target Sunday's Marine Corps Marathon

Schools set to dumb down historyTHE Vietnam War and women's influence down the years will be cut significantly from the national curriculum to reduce the amount students have to learn in history lessons.

Push for injecting roomsDOCTORS are calling for state governments, including South Australia's, to create safe drug-use spaces.

It meets every opportunity to address the future with a return to the past.

The solemn promises it made in the August election campaign have been broken or shelved because they were undeliverable. Now, the failed pink batts insulation scheme, solar rebate program, the wasteful BER project and the disastrous Not Bloody Needed broadband rollout will dog Labor all the way to the next election.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s response to her government’s multitude of failures is defiance.

She has branded the Opposition’s views as “economic Hansonism’’, a dog whistle if there ever was one, but when Opposition Leader Tony Abbott denounced her language as “shrill and aggressive’’ he was set upon by a coven of feminazis outraged at implied sexism in his language.

They apparently had nothing to say about her belittling of Pauline Hanson.

Senator Stephen Conroy handed the Opposition a bonus with attempts to bully Australians into the NBN.

His refusal to provide any coherent guideline to the eventual cost to taxpayers of his monopolistic enterprise is a sound reason to distrust his every word about it.

And Gillard has been forced to reassess the wisdom of supporting the independence it initially claimed for the Murray Darling Basin Authority in the face of a predictable backlash from farmers and communities along the river system.

Strikingly, Labor is now acknowledging those who live on or near the Murray may know more about the river than any number of Greens and Labor activists living in Newtown or inner Melbourne.

Like the monstrous mining tax problem which Gillard assured the nation she had solved, the Murray Darling issue is no closer to resolution than the national health reform package signed by her predecessor Kevin Rudd, which still fails to encompass Western Australia.

When Gillard came to office she claimed she had reached a deal with East Timor for an offshore processing centre that would resolve the boat people issue and stop the flow of boats.

The East Timor solution was dead on delivery, as Rudd told his staff at the time. He didn’t support it then and is only paying lip service to the notion now. It is not going to fly. Ever.

Since Gillard’s laughable proposal, the RAN has delivered taken an all-time record number of illegal people smuggler boats have been delivered to Christmas Island, with a record number of illegal entrants going ashore.

This week Gillard spoke to the Australian Industry Group, self-interested, self-important business personalities which, under the leadership of Heather Ridout has become an ALP appendix.

Gillard gave the guests a rousing stump speech, claiming to be committed to economic reform.

One can only assume the guests were too polite to walk out, but anyone familiar with Gillard’s record would be excused for having done so.

Since entering Parliament in 1998, Gillard added her vote to entrenched Labor opposition against reforming legislation. She opposed legislation to reduce the lowest marginal tax rate from 17 per cent to 15 per cent and increase the top two personal income tax thresholds.

She opposed an increase in the income threshold for the Medicare Levy, and she opposed the introduction of the 30 per cent Private Health Insurance rebate and the abolition of the 15 per cent superannuation surcharge.

She was opposed to the GST.

Those employers politely applauding her remarks on Tuesday should have been aware she opposed legislation to ban secondary boycotts and to ban compulsory union fees.

She opposed proposals to toughen welfare to work requirements, and to give protection to the right of Australia’s 1.9 million independent contractors to remain self-employed.

This self-proclaimed reformer worked with the historically corrupt MUA to block waterfront reforms which have seen productivity levels escalate beyond what she, and the trade union movement she represented, claimed possible.

Gillard opposed every single Coalition Budget measure that turned Hawke-Keating Labor government deficits into surpluses and left the Rudd government with a bomb-proofed economy that enabled Australia to ride out the global financial crisis.

Her speech was fiction. Just like the undertaking she before the election that her government would not introduce a carbon tax - now rejected to placate Labor’s great big Green rump and the duplicitous duo of independents, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott.

Gillard has a credibility problem. She has broken all her big pre-election promises and wants to reinvent herself as a reformer.

Labor is in office but the Greens are in power is the slogan Abbott coined last month.

Gillard is now enslaved to the unrepresentative Adam Bandt, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott in the Lower House.

She is handcuffed to these pygmies whether it be on the Murray Darling, the NBN, or the introduction of a carbon tax.

Pandering to independents and Greens has cost her all credibility and trashed her claim to be a reformer. - She offers nothing worthwhile to the position of PM. Andrew Bolt waxed lyrical about her in 2007, and her large number of ministries, but they all failed. I am reminded of my local state member Joe Tripodi whom I turned to for help in ‘07. I needed him to speak on my behalf, and I didn’t direct him how. My major issue being that the dead school boy Hamidur Rahman’s parents were blamed by the coroner for his accidental death, and my testimony was potentially exsculpatory, but had been apparently prevented from being seen by the coroner during their investigation through government corruption. He has done nothing for his constituent, but send a threat seconded by Della Bosca.

All it would take is for the coroner to look into the matter .. and he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. But he may be gone before it happens, but all those who are corrupt standing him up .. they will still be there until the issue is raised and addressed. I think it is a mistake to say Gillard is in control. She only ‘does what she can,’ might be how some express it, but the reality is she doesn’t even do that. She is torn by indecision. She is unused to power. She says she will turn back the boats and she knows how, but she doesn’t. She says she won’t put a price on Carbon. She knows why she shouldn’t but she will anyways. All she can do is nod permission at those who establish pork barrels for the corrupt club of mates. They don’t care about trashing Australia or the ALP.Gillard is not in control, but that is no reason to vote Greens. Vote for the conservatives (Libs, Nats, LNP). They have an agenda which will prosper Australia. But also a vote for the conservatives is a vote that will benefit ALP supporters too. The ALP has lost all sense of direction everywhere. The conservatives will listen to ALP voters too, and work in everyone’s best interests. A vote for conservatives is a vote for a better Australia for everyone. They can cut spending and spend of sensible projects we need. Australia has wealth to share, but nobody has the kind of wealth the ALP are tossing away into their pork barrels. I thought things looked bad before the last election .. already things look much worse. A vote for the ALP was not a vote to move forward. Neither was a vote for the Greens. The only way to progress is to vote for the conservatives (Lib, Nat, LNP). Nothing points to virtues of an NBN. It is the largest pork barrel in Australian history. It will not pay for what is inferred as a promise (cabling to all house and units). It would not deliver the efficiencies it claims. It would not be as effective as a much cheaper alternative posited by the conservatives. The only supporters are vested interests .. which should tell you something.The reason why the secrecy is in place is because it is widely known that it is a dog. If finished, it will not be an opera house, it will be obsolete. - ed===The 2010 Election Campaigns Are This Year's Top Reality ShowBy Joe PeyronninI don't know about you, but I have nightmares about Rand Paul, Sharron Angle and Jerry Brown as a result of the onslaught of political ads on television these past few weeks. And, with less than a week to go, there literally isn't enough time in the day on some television stations to meet the demand for political advertising.

The din of democracy must have the Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves! TV Ad Week, a trade publication, estimates that $2 billion dollars will be spent on political ads that air on local television stations throughout the country. And, in many cases, they have generated a great deal of buzz among possible voters.

The 2010 midterm elections appear to be this year's break out hit "Reality Show."

Elections will be held for 37 Senate and 37 gubernatorial seats, and the entire House of Representatives, 435 seats. No one seems immune from the reach of political advertising this year. This is especially good news for TV stations that were clobbered by the economic downturn and are now making out like bandits. Especially since TV Ad Week estimates another $1 billion will be spent on so-called "issue" advertisements.

No doubt reflecting the polarization of the country, many campaign commercials have taken on a more negative tone this election year. In fact, there is a consistency in messaging across the country for candidates from each party. "ObamaCare is socialized medicine,” a Republican claim, while many Democrats say that their opponents want to "privatize Social Security."

What is most alarming it the trend toward personal attacks. For instance, one ad attacked Rand Paul for "worshipping the god Aqua Buddha," while another questioned how Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid earned his wealth. There is no such thing as "you went too far" in political advertising.

Of course, political advertising has gone viral, and it is paying off big time for Internet companies. Whether on TV or on You Tube, candidates want a message that breaks through the political noise and connects with voters. The results can be a bit outrageous.

For instance, West Virginia's Democratic candidate for the Senate, Joe Manchin, fired a bullet through "Obama's Cap-and-Trade Bill."

Nevada's Republican candidate for the Senate, Sharron Angle, has an ad that shows evil looking young men when complaining about Senator Harry Reid's position on immigration.

Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak, holding a bag of dog poop, compares cleaning up after his dog to cleaning up his opponent's economic mess.

Polls indicate that most Americans say they are against negative ads. In fact, a recent Rasmussen poll shows that 58% of those surveyed said they would “vote for the other candidate” because of a negative poll. But political consultants know that negative ads do work. And these ads can be a decisive blow in a close race. One pundit quipped, “Every dollar spent on a positive ad is wasted!”

Come Wednesday the intensity, the insanity, of political advertising will go into hibernation. Viagra and Tums will return to prominence, a welcome relief. But, with the explosion of media outlets across all platforms, and the increasingly enormous amounts of money pouring into political campaigns, get ready for the 2012 elections!

Joe Peyronnin is a former CBS News Vice President and television executive.===Grow Up, Already! Calling Women Bad Names Doesn't Help AnyoneBy Penny Young NanceIt’s difficult not to crow about 2010 being The Year of the Conservative Woman. Never before have so many fiscal and socially conservative women candidates covered the nation’s ballots. It is a heady time for traditional women.

These women are fighters too. Nikki Haley, Sharron Angle, Carly Fiorina and Christine O’Donnell are apparently threats to the liberal and progressive establishment, especially to the liberal women. It’s like a bad memory from middle school where mean girls rule the school and lash out when ever they feel threatened. But this time, it plays out on a national stage on network television.

Derogatory language against women running for office is nothing new. Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton and especially Sarah Palin all went through it. But the rhetoric has been particularly foul and demeaning during this election cycle. They are no longer content to criticize clothes and perceived IQ. They have moved on to character assassination and good old fashioned expletives.

In her cringe-worthy inducing tirade against Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle, The View co-host Joy Behar lambasted Angle as a “b*tch” who would be “going to h*ll” because she had ran an ad against illegal immigration. Killing Joy with kindness, Angle was the better woman when she sent Joy flowers thanking her for her help in boosting fundraising at the last minute. Of course, Ms. Behar went back on air to conduct rant number two against Angle upon receiving the bouquet.

And California GOP candidate Meg Whitman stayed classy when her opponent called her a “wh*re” while Senate Republican nominee Christine O’Donnell has had to deal with complete and utter humiliation when this week the trashy website Gawker ran an anonymous, unverifiable post about a one-night with her years ago. What word will they possibly come up with next to demean these women after already calling them a “b*tch” and “wh*re”? I’d rather not put it in print.

Where are the so-called women’s groups defending these women? The National Organization of Women actually endorsed Meg Whitman’s opponent after the wh*re comment and only after some teeth-pulling by the media did they come out against the Gawker attack on Christine O’Donnell (originally NOW spokespeople said twice they were “passing” on the story).

Perhaps more importantly, where in the world are the ABC executives denouncing Joy Behar’s unprofessional and misogynic rant against Sharron Angle? Might as well put them in the same category as NPR for their firing Juan Williams. ABCs silence is a disgusting show of intolerance towards conservative women.

Joy Behar needs to be fired, immediately. Are ABC executives hiding under their desks, afraid of her wrath? Get over it and do the right thing.

Conservative women, like Sarah Palin and all the others after her running for office these midterm elections, have played it straight and have not resorted to derogatory name-calling and high-school mean girl antics. Voters will no doubt remember these moms, and grandmas, who endured hate-filled sewage coming from the mouths of liberal pundits, candidates and so-called comedians.

This is certainly the Year of the Woman -- the conservative, principled woman who has shown her incredible inner strength when up against the most vitriol of attacks never before seen on a national political scale. It’s a real pity that much of it came from other women. Is it sexism when women hate on other women or is it just good old fashioned jealously? Grow up girls!

Penny Nance is CEO of Concerned Women for America.===MIDTERM MAYHEMTim BlairIt’s all happening in Chicago. And later in DC – details to follow===Hockey isn’t just taking hitsAndrew BoltI’m no fan of populist bank-bashing, but I think Joe Hockey is being accused of more than he’s actually done - and probably isn’t having the worst of it in this exchange, repaying a cheap shot with a bazooka:

THE shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, is stepping up his campaign against the big banks, attacking the huge salaries paid to chief executives and promising private member’s legislation to implement tougher competition rules.

Mr Hockey brushed off a personal attack by the ANZ chief executive, Mike Smith, pointing out that Mr Smith earned $50,000 a day while the mortgagees the Coalition was worried about earned $50,000 a year.

Mr Smith had accused Mr Hockey of ‘’hijacking’’ the Coalition’s economic credentials with his ‘’out-there proposals’’, comparing him with the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez.

I’m not sure Sarah Palin has spent the past two years well to prepare herself to be a credible presidential nominee, and Karl Rove is downright dismissive:

SARAH Palin has been rebuffed as a candidate for president at a senior level of the Republican Party.

Former White House strategist Karl Rove has said she lacks “gravitas”.

The former Republican vice-presidential candidate confirmed yesterday that she would challenge President Barack Obama in 2012 “if there’s nobody else to do it"… Over the past month she has campaigned for Republican candidates backed by the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement, from which she draws much encouragement for a White House bid.

Mr Rove cast doubt on Ms Palin’s suitability, singling out the former Alaskan governor’s appearance in a reality TV show filmed in her home state.

“I am not certain how that fits in the American calculus of ‘that helps me see you in the Oval Office’,” Mr Rove told The Daily Telegraph of London.

He pointed to an ad for her new show in which she says: “I’d rather be doing this than (be) in some stuffy old political office.”

Maybe her inclinations are telling her something.- another Bolt broadside on a good conservative - ed===The packages aren’t of Talmuds, but…Andrew BoltI doubt the reaction is about nothing, but it’s an odd-sounding plot:

BARACK Obama has announced stepped up security at US airports after the discovery of two packages containing explosive material.

The discovery of the suspicious packages on cargo planes in transit for the United States sparked an international security alert.

The President confirmed today that the packages—found in Dubai and East Midlands in Britain—had originated in Yemen and were bound for Jewish synagogues in Chicago.

More:

One of the packages was found aboard a cargo plane in Dubai, the other in England. Preliminary tests indicated the packages contained the powerful industrial explosive PETN, the same chemical used in the Christmas attack, U.S. officials said. The tests had not been confirmed.

In the U.S., cargo planes were searched up and down the Eastern Seaboard, and an Emirates Airlines passenger jet was escorted down the coast to New York by American fighter jets.

No explosives were found aboard those planes, though the investigation was continuing on at least two.

UPDATE

One suspicious package, found in the United Kingdom, contained a “manipulated” toner cartridge and had white powder on it as well as wires and a circuit board, a law enforcement source said.

“The size and shape of the printed circuit board are typical to a handset cell-phone-type device,” said Olivier Clerc, the head of application engineering for a wireless phone parts manufacturer, who provided an analysis of the circuit board shown in a photograph obtained by CNN.

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About Me

I have an m-audio mobile pre amp fed by the audiotechnica 2041sp condensor mic pack. Prior to 15/4/06, I'd used a Shure sm-58 that required a nuclear blast to register a sound or the internal mic of my aged imac, which has a penchance to recording my breathing. I also used a Griffin itrip, until the community convinced me it was not hiding my talent as well as the other mics.

I am a Writer and an occasional Math Teacher (Sir, what's the occasion?). I like to sing, having no instrumental talent (cannot even clap in time, and yes, I'm aware singing badly IS obnoxious).

I have performed the finale to Les Miserables before an audience of 500. I have also sung before a similar audience (students, parents) renditions of 'I Will' (Beatles), 'Mr Cairo' (Jon Vangelis) and 'I am Australian' (Seekers). Now I seek another profession because the audience hates me ..